Rey Mysterio will reportedly no longer be a part of World Wrestling Entertainment’s SmackDown World Cup tournament after being side-lined with an injury.
WWE kicked off their SmackDown World Cup on the November 11th episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown, with Rey Mysterio originally in the tournament representing Mexico. The winner of the tournament goes on to have a title shot against GUNTHER for his WWE Intercontinental Championship. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer, Mysterio will no longer be a part of the competition after suffering an injury — Meltzer also notes that the injury is either an ankle injury or an injury to his foot.
Rey Mysterio Is Out Of The WWE SmackDown World Cup
With Rey Mysterio no longer being involved in the WWE SmackDown World Cup, the company has named Mustafa Ali as his replacement. Ali’s first bout in the tournament will be on the upcoming November 18th episode of SmackDown against Ricochet.
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp is reporting that Mustafa Ali being featured in the WWE SmackDown World Cup does not mean that he will be permanently moved over to the blue brand. Sapp reported that “Mustafa Ali was announced for the Smackdown World Cup, but not so fast on him becoming a full time roster member for now.”
The last time that Rey Mysterio wrestled in the squared circle was Sunday, October 30, 2022 at a house show in Mexico City, Mexico.
Previously on WWE Monday Night Raw, Rey Mysterio would move over to WWE Friday Night Smackdown after an intense feud with The Judgement Day, where his son Dominik Mysterio kept taunting the lucha libre legend to hit him, which he refused. After first considering retirement, Mysterio would eventually relocate to the blue brand after talks with “Triple H.”